How do I disable the "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Host [etc]" feature?

Anonymous
2023-02-09T16:34:50+00:00

We have started getting complaints from our customers over this "feature" as it appears to be quite the resource hog, and of course they are blaming our add-ins.

Killing the ai.exe process appears to have no ill effect on the usability of Office programs such as Word, Outlook or Excel.

So I need to know how we can disable it. I'd prefer to give an instruction to our users on how they can switch off a feature they do not want, they feel they do not need, and that causes their old PCs to start sounding like a Harrier Jet taking off.

Thank you

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | Other

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer recommended by moderator
Anonymous
2024-02-07T21:10:13+00:00

This seems to work. There are all sorts of solutions put out there that involve things like editing the Registry. Here's a much easier fix that seems to have worked for me (and this is from The Geek Page https://thegeekpage.com/how-to-disable-the-artificial-intelligence-ai-host-feature/).

First, the obvious: delete the AI executables from the OFFICE folder:
ai.exe

ai.exe
aitrx.dll

Second - this is incredibly easy. Deleting the executables does not completely work because Office automatically updates itself with new copies of those files.

Since the AI Host runs when you use an Office app:
Disable the Office app updates.

To do this, open any Office application, like Word.

– Click the “File” menu and then the “Account” menu item - this may be under the "More..." menu item, in which case click "More..." and then click "Account"

– There, click on “Update Options”, which brings up a popup menu - on the popup menu, set that to “Disable Updates” to disable Office updates for all Office apps

Was this answer helpful?

20+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

240 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-12-10T03:07:53+00:00

    You people at Microsoft need to get permission to load this type of content. It is NOT wanted by most people. Including me. I should not have to remove it. You should NOT have put it on my system without my permission.

    You will be getting a chat started so that YOU can get rid of it> I have already had to do this once, and now I am here again having to tell you to remove it.

    Thank you

    Anne

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-09-18T17:10:48+00:00

    I thought I was the only one. Reading this discussion has been quite refreshing. I thought my PC was being hacked. I won't go into all of my particulars. It's too ugly and frankly trying to keep ahead of what I call the "System Sneaks" is all consuming. I just have to try to keep one step ahead. I never had these types of problems with a PC until about Nov. 2022.

    If you really want to know what being cornered is, get this, I have Windows 11 in S Mode. I cannot use any kind of command prompt, registry editor, group policy, etc. to try fixes. So I can't really fix squat.

    I have threatened to go to the dump and dig up an old broken Etch-e-Sketch to use instead of continuing with Microsoft. Some of you may have to look up what an Etch-e-Sketch is. Better go back about 55-60 yrs.

    Thank you all for this enlightened discussion.

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2023-07-18T01:06:30+00:00

    MS did this as a nudge. It's only supposed to be for Office suite to assist with spelling and grammar etc.

    It will inevitably grow as a 'helper' that I have no desire to have meddling in my business.

    What I did...

    • deleted ai.exe and ai.dll
    • create ai.exe and ai.dll text files with a couple words in them in case Office app attempted to pull down file if it didn't find it.
    • change permissions, removing inheritance and copying existing perms as explicit
    • change permissions to remove everything but Users and Admin (System, All Application Packages, All Restricted, Application Packages)

    This should do it, but I haven't run Windows Update since doing this.

    I also have a Kill-AI.cmd file on my desktop that I can right-click and Run As Administrator before opening Office apps and it will kill it. I create ai.exe.txt and ai.dll.txt text files that get copied to ai.exe and ai.dll

    cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16"
    del ai.exe
    del ai.dll
    copy ai.exe.txt ai.exe
    copy ai.dll.txt ai.dll
    pause

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-05-31T14:58:38+00:00

    Hi, i solved this by adding a key entry named ai.exe to

    *LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options*

    Inside LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ai.exe add the DWORD UseFilter with the value 1

    Inside LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ai.exe add a new key with an arbitrary name say ai.exe.path

    Inside LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ai.exe\ai.exe.path add the STRING FilterFullPath with the value of the full command line without quotation. In my case: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\ai.exe

    Inside LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ai.exe\ai.exe.path add the STRING Debugger with the value of a simple program. In my case i use the old Windows Calculator which wont start in Windows 10. The simple program just needs to be found inside the System or User path.

    I had to use this kind of approach ( https://superuser.com/users/622538/e-grechnikov) since i own the game Alien Isolation with the executable ai.exe, which won't start either if i just added the ai.exe key to Image File Execution Options.

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments